slowly becoming a Mass-hole.

I fear I have been off the map more than normal. There's always an element of sitting under the radar for me, given I guess my personality, but having moved a few hours away and also having a job where I literally am 'on' for hours and hours (almost 60+ hour weeks) a day is well. time consuming to say the least?
So if you're reading this and you still want to be my friend, then I am pleased about that. I really feel like I've struggled trying to make people happy here and leave kind of my NJ/Baltimore friends on the backburner a bit. I love you guys. if that means anything.
My week has been crazy here - from classes to dorm duty, where should I begin. well dorm duty isn't anything special really - I just am required to be present once a week in my respective dorm (Thursday) for 7-11pm and routinely check in. Usually I bake brownies or whatever and then hand them out to the kids as a semi-excuse to come into their room and see what they're working on. Once a term, the dorm faculty have to cover a weekend, and since I have Thursdays anyway, I was on T-Sat. so. I was doing that. and although nothing exciting happened, it was still insanely draining. no wonder it only happens once a term.

My classes are doing really well. I may have mentioned that I teach a freshmen foundations class, and that makes me nervous most days. I think it's because the very first week of school many of them didn't talk, and the ones that DID talk didn't feel like listening. I am pleased to say they are coming around. We did have a great end to the week, this project I gave them was an adaptation of Ukiyo-e's Great Wave blockprint.

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I printed out a copy, made a grid, and each student got a little 1"x1.5" block that they had to transfer by charcoal onto a bigger piece of paper. They didn't consult each other while doing this, so the first time they were able to put it together was when all the pieces were done. Here's the final piece (now hanging in the hallway of the RAC.)

These students made me proud this week.

in other news. We had an NMH annual event this week, "Mountain Day", where essentially each class hikes a mountain during what would otherwise be considered a school day. My role as a faculty was to sit at a check in point and make sure the kids didn't die. I know. I'm so ridiculously important. so then there is a 'sweep' person who collects everyone after the last kid comes through and we head up the hill ourselves to get a lunch.

Meg, Teryl, Julia and Martha (and I) taking a break before heading up the mountain.

my roommate, Teryl, and good friend Sarah.

The kids liked it because there was essentially no classes that day, and the weather was absolutely stunning. The seniors were able to hike Mt. Monadnock, which is a pretty rigorous climb - a lot of scaling the mountain and vertical rocks. The top is high enough that you could see Boston.

still wanted to give a shout-out to my girl Pam who made it out here and visited a few weeks back. we also made pizza fondue. (my life is jburg.) Thinking of everyone down in the garden state - esPECially on Thursdays during Jersey Shore. the people on that show are absolutely ridiculous, and the boys in my dorm absolutely worship them. well just the situation. they are all about the GTL. maybe next time I post I'll have some lines.

so. new england in the autumn. definitely more pictures to come. and to be insanely into the harvest season (yay for pumpkin and my girlfriend Colleen.) our NMH farm has started to sell pumpkins. and the leaves are turning (though it's still 90 degrees some days.) more to come on the turn of the season. I'll be back in NJ to celebrate the matrimony of Cheryl and Gurzo the weekend of the 8th, and then the following week.

If you still love me, at this point, let's make plans.